Take a Chance on Me (28 page)

Sometimes dreams trick you into believing they’re real. And then there are other times when, completely out of the blue, life suddenly becomes so surreal that you wonder if perhaps you’re dreaming after all.

Cleo stared at Fia, who had come hurtling across the green to see her. It was nine o’clock in the morning, bright and sunny, and she’d been washing the red Bentley prior to picking up a married couple later who were celebrating their ruby wedding anniversary. She switched off the power-hose.

‘Sorry, say that again?’

‘I don’t want Ash to move to Australia. I don’t want him to go.’ Out of breath and with an air of desperation about her, Fia blurted out, ‘The thing is, I really like him but he’s always been really weird with me… I didn’t know what I’d done wrong but he obviously couldn’t stand me, then something changed and he seemed different and then
I
started to feel differently, but it’s all so weird and confusing, and now there’s this Australia thing happening and I’m just so
scared
…’

Blimey. Cleo was stunned; she’d never seen her in a state like this. ‘So what do you want me to do?’

‘Oh God,’ Fia raked her fingers through her hair. ‘I suppose I’m asking if he’s said anything to you.’

‘About Australia?’

‘About me! I’m asking if he’s said he really doesn’t like me.’ She paused, shaking her head. ‘Or if you think, deep down, maybe he likes me a little bit… you know, just enough to give me something to work with.’

Cleo surveyed her seriously, taking in the ruffled blond hair, the absence of makeup, the air of agitation. ‘It’s neither of those.’

‘Oh. Oh.’

‘He doesn’t dislike you.’

‘Oh?’ Hope flared in Fia’s eyes.

‘He doesn’t like you a little bit.’

‘Oh.’ Fia’s shoulders slumped. ‘Right.’

‘He likes you a lot.’

Confusion reigned. ‘What?’

Honestly, how could some people be so blind? Cleo said, ‘I thought you knew! It was so obvious, I thought you’d figured it out and were just being polite and pretending you hadn’t noticed.’

Fia did a double take. ‘He ignored me! He hardly ever
spoke
. Most of the time he wouldn’t even look at me!’

‘Hello?’ Cleo gave her a
Duh
look. ‘That’s kind of what shy people do.’

‘
Shy
?’ Fia clapped a hand over her mouth in disbelief. ‘He said he was shy once, on the radio. I thought it was a joke.’

‘Uh-uh.’ Cleo broke into a grin and shook her head. ‘Ash has had a massive crush on you from day one. I did offer to tell you but he threatened to chop me into small pieces. And to be honest, I never thought for one minute you’d go for him. The only person you were interested in was Johnny.’

‘Maybe I was, at first. But some things are never going to happen, are they?’ Fia shrugged, casually eradicating that idea. ‘Anyway, forget about that. Let’s talk about Ash. What am I going to
do
?’

Cleo wished she could fall in love with someone else and dismiss Johnny from her life as easily as Fia. Sadly, he appeared to be stuck in her brain for good. But never mind that now; if there was anyone with a more disastrous love life than her, it was Ash. This was stunning news for him.

‘Easy. Just tell him.’

‘Oh God, my
heart
. I don’t know if I can.’ Fia was trembling and clutching her chest at the mere thought of it. ‘He hasn’t been over to the pub for the last two days. And I’m working tonight… look, could you tell him?’

‘What, “My mate really fancies you”? Bit teenagey, isn’t it?’ Cleo pulled a face. ‘It’d be a lot better coming from you.’

Visibly losing her nerve, Fia hesitated and fiddled with her watch strap. ‘The thing is, I don’t think I can. Well, perhaps I’ll leave it for a bit. Maybe until the weekend…’

Honestly, how could people
do
that? Never one of life’s procrastinators—at least where good news was concerned—Cleo exclaimed, ‘This is something
nice
! We’re not talking about filling in a tax return here. You want to tell him straight away!’

‘I know, but this is all a bit sudden.’ Fia was hyperventilating and edging backwards. ‘I kind of need to think about how to say it.’

Right, enough faffing about. A kick up the backside was definitely called for. Thinking on her feet, Cleo said, ‘Except you can’t afford to hang about, can you? Because it’ll be too late by then. You have to do it now!’

Fia’s eyes widened. ‘Why?’

‘Because he’s jacking in his job, didn’t you know?’ Cleo shook her head and crossed her fingers behind her back. ‘He told me yesterday, said there was nothing to keep him here so he may as well go to Australia. And did he tell you about his boss?’

‘No, what about him?’

‘They can’t stand each other! And Ash is going to resign live on air this morning… God only knows what he’s going to say.’

‘He’s doing it
today
?’ Fia’s throat went blotchy with shock.

‘At the end of the show. He told me he had some stuff he wanted to get off his chest about the way the place was run. I said it would stir up all kinds of trouble but Ash doesn’t care, because he’s off anyway.’ Cleo ran out of breath. God, though, she was brilliant.

Fia checked her watch. ‘It’s ten past nine. Oh my God, you have to stop him!’

‘
You
have to stop him,’ said Cleo.

‘How can I do that?’

‘Phone him. Now.’

‘Oh God no, I couldn’t. On the phone?’ Vehemently Fia shook her head. ‘No way.’

Cleo put down the power-hose and gave her a measured look. Then she eased her mobile out of her jeans pocket. Finally, she said in a firm but kind voice, ‘If you don’t want to lose him, you really don’t have any choice.’

Panicking and caving in, Fia whispered fearfully, ‘OK then.’

Hee!

Inside the cottage, Cleo made her sit on the sofa. She pressed out the number of the radio station and asked to speak to Megan. The call was transferred in a matter of moments.

‘Megan? Hi, it’s Cleo Quinn! Now listen, have you ever wanted to be a fairy godmother?’

Megan, Ash’s traffic and weather girl and all-round sidekick, was always up for some fun. ‘Hi Cleo! You mean with a wand and a tiara? Always!’

‘Well listen, don’t let Ash know who’s calling, but I’ve got a friend here who has something very important she’d like to say to him. And let me tell you, it’ll be good.’

‘Yeah?’ Megan was immediately interested. ‘Ooh, give me a clue!’

‘I can’t, it’s better if it’s a surprise, but you’ll love it, I promise. So, can you put her on after the next record?’

Fia let out a squeak of alarm. ‘I’m not saying it on the radio! Can’t I just talk to him off-air?’

‘No, because the hands-free thingy’s broken on my phone so I wouldn’t be able to hear what’s going on at the other end. This way,’ Cleo explained cheerfully, ‘I can!’

‘Is that her in the background?’ Megan said, ‘What’s her name?’

‘Oh God,’ wailed Fia, ‘don’t tell her my name.’

‘It’s Fia.’

‘Oh no, I can’t do this! It’s no good, I feel sick, I just
can’t
.’

‘Oh,
Fia.
’ Megan sounded even more intrigued. ‘Is she the one who does the food in the pub? Ash is always talking about her.’

‘That’s because he’s secretly in luuuuurve with her.’ Beaming across at Fia, Cleo said, ‘But nobody else knows it yet.’

‘Hallelujah, I am loving the sound of this.’ Megan, who spent her life being mercilessly teased by Ash, let out a whoop of delight. ‘This is going to make up for the time he told everyone I was born with a willy. Let’s do it, baby. Put her on!’

Fia’s palms were slick with perspiration. Gripped with terror, she almost dropped the phone when Cleo passed it across. How was this happening to her?

‘Listen,’ said Cleo encouragingly, ‘it’s got to be easier than doing it face to face.’

But Fia could barely hear what Cleo was telling her, because Megan was saying in her other ear, ‘Fia? Hi there, I’ve heard so much about you! OK, I’m going to bring you in at the end of this track that’s playing now. You just say what you have to say to Ash, but do keep it clean, OK? And don’t try to listen to yourself on the radio there, because we operate with a two second delay and you’d get in a muddle.’

Fia croaked, ‘Right.’ How much more of a muddle could she get into than the one she was already in? She appeared to be having an out of body experience. Glancing across at Cleo, who was busy fiddling with the tuner on her old transistor, she shook her head and said, ‘You can’t have it on in here. And I can’t do it with you listening. Take it into the kitchen.’ She couldn’t cope with Cleo watching while she possibly turned herself into an international laughingstock.

Then the track that had been playing on the radio came to an end and in her ear. Fia heard Megan announcing, ‘That was Leona Lewis with her new single, and now we have a mystery caller on the line for our Ash. And I want all of you out there to pay attention to this, because I have it on good authority that it’s going to be worth listening to.’

‘What’s this?’ protested Ash. ‘Some kind of set-up? It had better not be that barking psychotherapist again, calling from Arizona to tell me—’

‘It’s not the psychotherapist,’ Megan interrupted. ‘It’s actually a lady by the name of Fia, who I believe you already know. Hello, Fia! Ooh, and can I just tell everyone that Ash has just gone a very fetching shade of pink!’

‘Hi. It’s me.’ Fia discovered that her mouth was managing to produce the words despite the fact that her brain felt as if it had just been whizzed up in a blender.

‘Fia?’ Ash sounded stunned.

OK. Fia closed her eyes; she had to do this, she just had to. Don’t think about who else might be listening. This was just the two of them now. She cleared her throat and said, ‘The thing is… someone’s just told me that, um, you might quite, um, like me. And I wondered if it was true. Because if it is, I just want you to know that I feel the same way about you, and the reason I’m telling you this now is in case it might make you change your mind about Australia.’

‘Australia...’ Ash repeated the word as if in a trance.

She couldn’t give up now. She’d started, so she’d finish. ‘So basically, I don’t want you to go.’

Ash said dazedly, ‘Why not?’

Fia unstuck her tongue from the roof of her mouth. ‘Because I’d miss you. I can’t believe I’m saying this on the radio. And if you’re taking up the job in Sydney because it’s what you want more than anything in the world, that’s fine. Just forget any of this happened. But if it makes any difference at all, I need you to know that if you
did
decide to stay here… well, I’d be glad about that, because I really really like you. A lot.’

‘This
liking
thing,’ said Ash. ‘Excuse me for asking, but can I just double-check that this isn’t liking in a platonic, just-good-friends kind of way?’

Fia took a deep breath. ‘No, definitely not platonic.’

Oh heavens, she’d actually said it now.

Ash cleared his throat and said huskily, ‘Fia? Is this true?’

As if she’d be doing this if it wasn’t
. ‘Yes, it’s true.’

‘God, I can’t believe it.’

A laugh bubbled up without any warning at all. ‘Neither can I!’

‘This is… amazing.’

‘I know. Do you really like me?’

‘Yes. Oh yes. You have no idea.’

‘Are you going to Australia?’

‘No no no. I called them days ago and told them I wasn’t taking the job.’

Jolted, Fia wailed, ‘
Days ago
? But I thought you were handing in your notice today… I mean, er…’

The kitchen door swung open, bringing her crashing back to reality. Cleo poked her head round and said gaily, ‘Whoops, sorry, I made that bit up!’

What?
‘Why?’

‘Duh. Otherwise you wouldn’t have done this!’

On the other end of the line, Fia realized, Megan and assorted other people in the studio were now whistling and cheering. Megan was saying gleefully, ‘Oh my word, you should see how many texts and emails we’ve got coming in—this console’s lit up like the Starship Enterprise!’

‘Look, I’ve just got to finish the show,’ said Ash, ‘then I’m coming home. I can be there in an hour. Where will you be?’

Oh God, she was so happy. What a morning, and it wasn’t over yet. Unable to wipe the ridiculous smile off her face, Fia said joyfully, ‘I’ll be right here, waiting for you.’

***

In Channings Hill, Abbie and Georgia listened to the rest of the show in silence, then Abbie switched off the radio. ‘Oh sweetie, are you upset? I know how much you liked him.’

Georgia dabbed a finger across her plate, carefully collecting up crumbs and wondering how she felt. So that was it, Fia from the pub was in love with Ash. And Ash, it turned out, had been secretly in love with her for months. And now they were a couple, so besotted with each other that you could almost
feel
it over the airwaves.

Whereas Ash might have been her type but, for whatever reason, she hadn’t been his.

Anyone would be disappointed, wouldn’t they? But the thing was, it wasn’t her fault. The reason he hadn’t wanted to sleep with her wasn’t because she was unattractive and a complete turn-off, but because she simply hadn’t been Fia Newman.

Which was actually quite a comforting thing to know.

‘I liked him. But it’s no big deal.’ Georgia shrugged and shook back her hair. ‘Ash had his chance and he blew it.’

Abbie gave her shoulder an affectionate squeeze on her way to the sink. ‘Don’t let it get you down. You’re a gorgeous girl and you’ll find someone else. It’s his loss.’

Georgia smiled and relaxed. So far this year she’d acquired a new home, a new family, and two new jobs, which was probably enough for anyone to be going along with for now. Aloud she said happily, ‘Yeah.’

***

When Ash arrived home fifty minutes later, Fia was waiting for him outside his cottage. His heart began to thud at the sight of her, in her grey top and skirt, her gold-brown hair lifting in the morning breeze.

Somewhat less romantically, Cleo was there too, looking incredibly pleased with herself. They weren’t going to hear the end of this for some time; she was a nightmare when she knew she’d done something right.

Ash climbed out of the car, pointed to her open front door, and said, ‘Off you go.’

‘Spoilsport.’ Triumphantly she said, ‘This is all thanks to me, you know.’

‘All the same. Bye.’

Amazingly, she disappeared inside her cottage. He turned his attention back to Fia. Her amber eyes were glowing. His voice cracking with emotion, Ash said, ‘You’re beautiful.’

Fia visibly relaxed. She broke into a huge, uncontrollable smile. Without even hesitating she moved towards him and kissed him on the mouth. Oh God, this was fantastic… her lips were warm and soft… she was pressing her body against his… Like magic, he discovered that all the excruciating shyness had melted away. It was no longer there, paralyzing his mind and rendering him practically unable to think, let alone speak. Still holding her, Ash broke away and said, ‘Not that I’m complaining, but what brought this on?’

‘You didn’t come to the pub,’ said Fia. ‘It’s been three days since you got that message from your agent. Last night I couldn’t sleep for thinking about you. Then I came over here this morning to see Cleo and she said you were off to Australia.’

‘Oh.’ How had he guessed that Cleo was behind it?

‘And she told me all about you resigning live on air at the end of today’s show, telling your boss what you really thought of him.’ Fia shook her head. ‘So I realized I had to stop you before you did that. Except what I didn’t know was that she’d made the whole story up.’

Ash stroked her face. Her skin was like silk. ‘You’re amazing.’

Fia wrapped her arms tightly around him. ‘And as it seems to have worked, I suppose I can’t be too cross with her. Tell me why you decided against Australia.’

He regarded her with amusement. ‘OK, can you seriously picture me on Bondi Beach? A million fit tanned bodies and one beached whale?’

‘Stop it. You’re not fat. OK,’ Fia amended, ‘you’re a
bit
fat. But I like it. You’re
you.
’ She ran her hand down his front. ‘And you’re definitely not a whale.’

‘I’ll never have a six-pack,’ said Ash.

‘My husband had one of those. Six-packs are nothing to write home about. They’re not even comfortable, just rock-hard and bumpy.’

Ash smiled. ‘That’s it then, I definitely don’t want one now.’

Then he took her by the hand and led her up the path and into the house. The real reason he hadn’t seriously considered taking the job in Sydney was because Fia was here. But he’d tell her that later.

Right now they had more important things to do.

***

‘Hi, it’s me.’ The moment she heard his voice on the other end of the line, Cleo’s stomach did its habitual swoop-and-dive. ‘Look, I have a big favor to ask you.’

Cleo hesitated; did she even want to do Johnny any more favors? Since returning from Norfolk last week following the funeral, he and Honor had been seen coming and going. In yesterday’s
Daily Mail
there had been a photo of them arriving at a high-profile fashion event in Knightsbridge. Honor had looked stunning in a scarlet taffeta mermaid-style dress that showed off her signature curves. Johnny had been wearing a designer suit. Honor was quoted as saying: ‘Sacrifice? What sacrifice? Love’s all that matters and I’ve never been happier in my life!’

Which was how Cleo, upon reading the accompanying piece, had learned that Honor Donaldson had turned down a multi-million dollar deal to front a major cosmetics campaign because it would have meant working in Venezuela and being apart from Johnny for three months. Explaining her decision, Honor had said, ‘It was pressure of work that broke us up last time. We’re not going to let that happen again. Being together is more important than any amount of money in the bank.’

Which was undoubtedly true, but didn’t make it any easier to read. There was something about other people’s happiness—well, Johnny and Honor’s happiness—that was hard to bear. Anyway, back to the present. Cleo braced herself. ‘What kind of favor?’

Unless… wouldn’t it be great if he was calling to say that it was all over between him and Honor and could she possibly come over and give them a hand packing up her stuff?

God, that would be fantastic
.

Johnny said, ‘Are you doing anything this evening?’

Hmm, one of
those
questions, the kind where you had to commit yourself before discovering what you were letting yourself in for. Well, she wasn’t going to fall for
that
old trick.

Cleo said cautiously, ‘What’s the favor?’

‘The thing is, we’ve got Clarice here at the house. She’s come to stay for a few days. Now mentally she’s fine, but physically she’s pretty frail and I don’t want to leave her on her own. But we’ve been invited to a gallery opening tonight and they’re raising money for charity… I promised to help out and I don’t want to let them down.’

That was it then. Basically, she would be Cinderella left at home while he and Honor swanned off to the Prince’s ball.

‘So you’re wanting me to babysit.’

‘Just for a few hours. We’d be home by midnight. But only if you want to. If you’re busy, that’s fine,’ said Johnny. ‘I’ll ask someone else.’

Cleo hesitated; the way her brain was programmed meant she found it hard to refuse anyone requesting a favor. It was one of those genetic things; you could either do it without a qualm or you couldn’t.

Plus, it wasn’t as if she had anything else planned for this evening. Slapping on a face-pack and eating her way through a giant bag of Kettle chips probably didn’t count.

‘OK, I’ll do it. What time do you want me?’

For a moment there was no reply and she wondered if her phone had gone dead. Then Johnny said, ‘You will? That’s great, you’re a star. Eight o’clock all right with you?’

He’d come to her rescue when she’d crashed into a ditch. Of course she had to help him in return. And anyway, it might turn out to be fun. Forcing herself to sound cheerful, Cleo said, ‘No problem. Eight’s fine.’